Jamaican PM praises Oxford research in building resilience to climate change

The Jamaican Prime Minister has hailed the use of a climate risk analysis tool developed by the OPSIS as a key weapon in his armoury for addressing his country’s ‘inherent vulnerabilities’ and building infrastructure resilience.

During his recent Budget speech to the House of Representatives in Jamaica, The Most Hon. Andrew Holness, highlighted the value of the Systemic Risk Assessment Tool (J-SRAT). The tool was designed in collaboration with the Jamaican Government and the Coalition for Climate Resilient Investment (CCRI) with support from the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office to help identify ‘hotspots’ across the country’s major infrastructure networks - such as energy, water and transport - most vulnerable to climate risk, ensuring the effective and efficient investment of public and private resources.

The PM said: “In partnership with… Oxford University, we have designed an analytic and predictive tool to assist in decision making around climate resilient infrastructure investments. Jamaica is the first country globally to use this systemic risk assessment tool (the J-SRAT) to evaluate the strength of infrastructure as it relates to climate events.”

The geospatial climate risk analysis tool, launched in May last year, quantifies climate risks and prioritizes adaptation interventions in Jamaica transport, energy and water systems. It is linked with the G-SRAT, a publicly available global climate risk analysis tool which is enabling the transfer of the methodology to other vulnerable countries.

Prof Jim Hall, Professor of Climate and Environmental Risks at the Oxford Programme for Sustainable Infrastructure Systems (OPSIS) at the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford, said: “We have developed the J-SRAT to quantify the climate risks to Jamaica’s critical infrastructure networks: energy, transport and water. The tool will help to pinpoint vulnerabilities and plan the extra resilience that Jamaica will need to cope with a changing climate.

“Jamaica is just the start. In the global G-SRAT tool we are rolling out climate risk analysis for infrastructure systems worldwide.”

Jamaica’s population, infrastructure and economic assets are highly exposed to extreme weather, such as hurricanes, tropical storms and flooding events that are expected to become more intense and frequent. With many of these climate hazards now irreversible, the country’s priority is to adapt by building the resilience of its major infrastructure assets.

In his speech ‘From Vision to Reality: Nurturing seeds for peace, opportunity and prosperity’ given on 16 March, Andrew Holness said: “For developing nations such as Jamaica, the issue of climate change is a particularly relevant one. Small island developing states like Jamaica have limited impact on driving the rate of climate change. We are however, the ones most at risk and bearing the brunt of the crisis.

“The fact that 70% of Jamaica’s population lives within 5km of the sea highlights the great risk we face from sea level rise. The current drought and the exponential increase in fire should make it self-evident that we are already experiencing the impacts of climate change.

“We are already seeing the impacts of slow onset events such as saltwater intrusion in our wells, deteriorating soil quality and lower pollination rates, and we are at risk always from catastrophic weather events such as hurricanes. Jamaica is not sitting by idly. We are strategically addressing our inherent vulnerabilities with the appropriate focus of building resilience whilst honouring our moral obligation to reduce our emissions.

“Jamaica has been a strong voice on the international stage in advocating for climate justice and increased mobilisation of climate finance, particularly for small island developing states.

“The next phase of Jamaica’s development must be designed through the climate lens and must include a macro economic strategy that builds resilience in all facets of national life and to adapt to this existential threat.

“In partnership with the Coalition of Climate Resilient Investment (CCRI), the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the United Kingdom - Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and Oxford University, we have designed an analytic and predictive tool to assist in decision making around climate resilient infrastructure investments. Jamaica is the first country globally to use this systemic risk assessment tool (the J-SRAT) to evaluate the strength of infrastructure as it relates to climate events.

“By way of a quick explanation - This tool maps all the threats and then when you go to make an investment, let’s say you’re going to build a road, immediately all the climate threats that could impact the road are known. It’s not that you won’t build a road. You will still build a road, but because you are looking at the road through a climate lens you may have to design the road differently, you may have to take it in from the shore, you may have to increase the thickness of the asphalt, you may have to put in more drainage or you may decide that maybe it’s better to do a rail or a tunnel. But it helps you to understand.

“So, we have this tool and what it means is that Jamaica is way ahead of many other countries in mainstreaming climate thinking in government.”

You can hear Prime Minister Andrew Holness’ reference to J-SRAT and also his full speech on climate change to the House of Representatives during his budget speech on 16 March.